Window-shade roller



Patented February 16, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

RUDOLPH Z. NOLAN, OF AL'ION, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW-SHADE ROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 752,096, datedFebruary 16, 1904.

Application filed J une 24, 1903.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH Z. NOLAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Alton, in the county of Madison and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Window-Shade Rollers, of whichthe following is a specification. Y

My invention has relation to new and use- Eul improvements inwindow-shade rollers of Qhat type which include in their structure aspring for rotating the roller to wind the shade 5hereon and apawl-and-ratchet device for iolding the roller against return movementwhen the curtain is lowered.

The object of the invention is to provide a levice of the charactermentioned which is imple in construction and durable and eiiicient n useand which will embody in its structure m improved pawl-and-ratchetdevice.

The invention consists in providing one end )f the roller with aratchet-disk which is rigdly attached to and turns with the roller whenihe shade is raised and lowered and in mountng upon the roller-spindle alocking member yhrough which the disk turns and in which is ocated aball which by gravity engages the lisk to prevent rotation of theroller.

I have fully illustrated my invention in the ..ccompanying drawings,forming a part of this peciication, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of one end of shade-roller, showing my invention applied noperative position thereon. Fig. 2 is an ind view of my improved roller,'the tubular asing being shown in longitudinal section and heratchet-disk in end elevation. Fig. 3 is a` ongitudinal section throughthe end of the oller and my invention as applied thereto. Pig. 4: is asectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a .ollow shade-roller withinwhich is arranged spring (not shown) which is adapted to turn he rollerin one direction for'the purpose of vinding thek shade thereon in awell-known ianner. Secured upon the end of the roller s a socket orcap-piece 2, having a closed end ormed with a central circular opening3, hrough which the spindle f1 extends, said spin- Serial No. 162,946.(N0 model.)

at right angles to the face of the socket or cappiece is a cylindricalextension or neck 6, the end of which terminates a short distance beyondthe cap-piece and is formed or provided with a disk 7 which -is formedupon its periphery with a plurality of projections 8, the rear sides ofwhich are curved, as at 9, the front portions being curved inwardly, asat 10, to provide pockets or recesses for the purpose hereinafterspecified.

11 designates a locking member which is rigidly mounted upon the spindle4i and is secured thereon in an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1,by forming it with a longitudinallyextending central aperture throughwhich the spindle fi is projected. This locking member 11 is providedwith a longitudinally-extending slot 12, within which the ratchet-disk 7is located and turns when the roller is rotated, said member being cutaway at one side, as at 13, to provide for the free rotation of thecylindrical extension 6., At its upper portion this locking member 11 ishollowed out to provide a longitudinally-extending channel or raceway141, in which is located a ball 15, which v is of such a diameter as .totravel easily within the raceway, but too large to permit of its beingdisplaced through the slot 12, as shown in Fig. 3. VThis ball is adaptedby its own weight to fall into recesses 10 in the ratchet-disk in orderto prevent the rotation of the roller 1 to wind the shade thereon.

y It will be seen .that the position of the disk `and locking member-inoperative relation is insured under all conditions in view of the factthat the locking member is rigidly mounted on the spindle and thatthebody thereof adjacent the cut-away portion 13 extends well within theperiphery of the disk, whereby lateral and longitudinal displacement ofthe disk is prevented.

'Io provide for the insertion of the ball into its position in thelocking member, the upper end of said member is provided with an opening16, through which the ball is inserted, the opening being afterwardsealed by means of a plug of solder or in any other desired manner. y

The operation of the invention is as follows: When the shade is pulleddown, the disk 7 will be rotated in a direction such that the ball 15will ride over the curved portions 9 of the ratchet-disk and willthereby be forced up into the raceway, the free rotation of the rollerin the direction to lower the shade being unimpeded. As soon as theshade is lowered to the desired point the ball 15 will roll down theraceway into one of the recesses 10, whereby the rotation of the rollerin the opposite direction to wind the shade up will be prevented. Toraise the shade, it is pulled downwardly, so as to rotate the rollerashort distance, which will serve to force the ball out of engagementwith the disk up into the raceway. rIhe spring within the roller willthen exert its force to rotate the roller in the Opposite direction, theball being thrown out of engagement with the disk and being held out oi'engagement therewith during the rotation of the disk. When the rotation0f the roller is stopped, the ball will then roll into engagement withthe disk and further rota tion of the roller prevented.

It will be seen that I have provided a pawland-ratchet device which isextremely simple in construction and which will efciently attain theobjects for which it is' devised.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new isf 1. The combination with a shade-roller and its spindle, of a cap-pieceprovided with a ratchet-disk,having a central aperture through which thespindle extends, a locking member on the spindle, formed with a slotwithin which the disk rotates and means to engage the disk to preventits rotation.

2. The combination with a shade-roller and its spindle, of a cap-pieceprovided with a ratchet-disk having a central aperture through which thespindle extends, a locking member on the spindle formed with a slotwithin which the disk rotates, a raceway in the locking member and aball in the raceway adapted tc engage the ratchet-disk to preventrotation oi the roller. f

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature ir presence of two witnesses.

RUDOLPH Z. NOLAN.

Witnesses:

J. C. FAULsTIoH, H. AsHLooK.

